10.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
11.  The applicant was born on 14 August 1979. The applicant claims to be Mr Amir Damirovich Kubulov, a citizen of the Russian Federation. He also claims that he has citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The applicant is currently detained in the Poltava pre-trial detention (“the Poltava SIZO”) of the State Department for Enforcement of Sentences.
12.  On 16 June 2003 an unidentified person murdered Zh.U.Zh. On the same date the Ministry of the Interior of Kazakhstan launched a criminal investigation into the murder.
13.  On 28 June 2003 the applicant was accused in Kazakhstan, in his absence, of having committed a crime under Article 96(1) of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan (murder). On the same date an investigator the Ministry of the Interior decided that the applicant should be detained.
14.  On 4 July 2003 the Ministry of the Interior of Kazakhstan (“the MIK”) issued an international search warrant for the applicant on suspicion of his having committed aggravated murder, involving capital punishment as a sanction (Article 96(2) of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan).
15.  The facts surrounding the applicant's initial detention may be summarised as follows.
16.  It was agreed by the parties that the applicant had been picked up at 9.20 p.m. on 23 August 2004 and detained thereafter, although there was no agreement as to where and why the applicant was detained. They provided various documents certifying what happened in the period from 9.20 p.m. on 23 August 2004 to 7.30 p.m. 25 August 2004, which can be summarised as follows.
17.  According to a document entitled “Record of arrest based on suspicion of involvement in a crime” (“Протокол о задержании по подозрению в совершении преступления”; hereafter - the “detention record”), issued by Major Tsarruk of the Dniprovsky District Police Department of Kyiv, a police patrol stopped the applicant, described as Amir Damirovich Kubulov, born on 14 August 1979, residing at 86, Zenkova Street, Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 23 August 2004 at 9.20 p.m. The detention record was dated with the same date and time.
18.  In smaller print, in what appear to be standard blocks of text, the following grounds for arrest (основания задержания) are set out:
“(...) 1.  Person had been arrested at the moment of committing a crime or in flagranto; 4.  [There is] other data, giving grounds to suspect the person in committing a crime, if he/she tried to escape or has no permanent place of residence or when the identity of the suspect has not been established.”
19.  The detention record also set out, again in small print, reasons for the applicant's arrest (мотивы задержания):
“To prevent crime.
20.  The detention record then noted, in large print, that the applicant was suspected of involvement in the crime envisaged in Article 96 § 1 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan. The detention record was signed by Major Tsarruk and stated that the applicant had been “familiarised” with the reasons for his detention (the applicant signed it and marked it stating that he familiarised with it in Russian language - “ознакомлен”), and with his rights and duties, as it was provided by Article 10 of the Regulation “On temporary detention of persons suspected in committing of crime”. It contained no exact date and time when the applicant had been familiarised with the reasons for his detention. After the applicant's signature, the record stated that the prosecutor had been informed about the applicant's arrest at 10.00 p.m. on 23 August 2004.
21.  In their further observations of 13 March 2007 the Government contended that after his apprehension at 9.20 p.m. on 23 August 2004 under Article 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 10 of the Regulation of 13 July 1976 “On the temporary detention of persons suspected of having committed a criminal offence” (see paragraphs 65 - 67 below), the applicant stayed at the Dniprovsky District Police Station. In particular, they referred to the aforementioned detention record. The Government also stated that the applicant had been familiarised with the reasons for his detention after 10.00 p.m. on the same day. They did not specify when.
22.  In their further observations of 23 May 2007 the Government stated that the applicant was taken to the sobering up facility at 9.25 p.m. on 23 August 2004. They referred to a written reply of 4 April 2007 to a request of the Dniprovsky Prosecutor dated 28 March 2007. In reply the centre's director informed the District Prosecutor that the applicant arrived at the facility at 9.25 p.m. on 23 August 2004 and left it at 7.30 a.m. on 24 August 2004. The director also stated that the applicant had been diagnosed with acute alcohol intoxication with perception, psychic and behavioural disorders.
23.  According to the medical card concluded by the sobering up facility (Kyiv City Narcological Clinical Hospital “Sociotherapy” of the Ministry of Health), the applicant arrived there at 9.25 p.m. on 23 August 2004. The medical card also provided that the applicant's diagnosis of alcohol intoxication and respective disorders had been established on 24 August and that he had stayed in the facility for two nights. The centre's contemporaneous records note the applicant as having been brought to the centre from Malyshka street in the Dniprovsky District of Kyiv by a Mr Kolomiyets. The card states that the applicant stayed at the sobering up facility from 9.25 p.m. on 23 August 2004 to 7.30 a.m. on 25 August 2004, that is, for two nights.
24.  On 24 August 2004 the MIK, in reply to request of the Ministry of the Interior of Ukraine, confirmed to the Kyiv Department of the Interior that the applicant was wanted as a murder suspect.
25.  The applicant, through his mother's submissions to the Kyiv City Court of Appeal (Апеляційний суд міста Києва) on 13 September 2004, contended that he had been taken directly to the sobering up facility on 23 August 2004 as he had no identity papers with him, and, in his observations of 21 October 2005 he stated that the detention record dated 9.20 p.m. on 23 August 2004 had been prepared only after his identity had been established and the authorities were aware that the applicant was wanted by the law enforcement authorities of Kazakhstan.
26.  On 3 September 2004 the MIK established that Mr Kaboulov was a citizen of Kazakhstan.
27.  On the same date the General Prosecutor's Office (“GPO”) of Ukraine informed the Kazakhstan GPO that the applicant had been apprehended in Ukraine and asked whether Kazakhstan intended to seek the applicant's extradition.
28.  After his return to the police station, the applicant made an “explanatory statement” to a prosecutor, dated 8 September 2004, which was written for him in Ukrainian by the senior assistant of Kyiv prosecutor. The applicant confirmed its contents in Russian (“записано верно”). After stating that he had not committed any criminal offences, he added without mentioning any exact times, that he had been stopped by police officers on 23 August 2004, who took him to the sobering-up facility and after that to the police station, where he remained.
29.  On 10 September 2004 the Deputy Prosecutor of Kyiv informed the Extradition Department of the GPO of Ukraine of the details as to the applicant's identity. In particular, it was established that the applicant's name was Mr Amir Damirovich Kaboulov and that he was a citizen of Kazakhstan only. The information also stated that he committed no crimes on the territory of Ukraine and did not have refugee status.
30.  On 13 September 2004 the Dniprovsky prosecutor and the head of the Dniprovsky District Department of the Interior lodged a petition with the Dniprovsky District Court of Kyiv (“the Dniprovsky Court”; Дніпровський районний суд міста Києва) seeking a warrant for the applicant's detention in SIZO no. 13 of the State Department for Enforcement of Sentences.
31.  On the same day the Dniprovsky Court, in the presence of the prosecutor and after having heard the applicant, issued a warrant for the applicant's detention on the grounds that there was a search warrant in respect of him in Kazakhstan and that the Ukrainian authorities were awaiting documents from the Kazakh authorities for his extradition to Kazakhstan. The court found that the applicant had been picked up drunk at Malyshka street by the police at 9.20 p.m. on 23 August 2004. The court noted that the applicant had explained to the police officers at the time of his arrest that he resided in Kyiv without registration. The court decided to detain the applicant in SIZO no. 13, and also ruled that the applicant's detention was not to exceed 30 days (that is, until 12 October 2004). The сourt further decided that the applicant should be detained on the basis of Articles 60 – 62 of the Minsk Convention, as he was to be extradited to Kazakhstan. The Court also referred to Articles 165 §§ 1 and 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The applicant was informed of the possibility of lodging an appeal.
32.  On 16 September 2004 the GPO of Kazakhstan requested the GPO of Ukraine to detain the applicant pending extradition.
33.  On 18 September 2004 the GPO of Kazakhstan, by letter, confirmed the search warrant in respect of the applicant and requested his extradition to Kazakhstan on the grounds that on 30 June 2003 the applicant had been charged with non-aggravated murder (Article 96 § 1 of the Criminal Code) of Zh.U.Zh. They also stated that criminal proceedings had been pending against the applicant since 16 June 2003 and he had been on the wanted list since 28 June 2003. The GPO of Kazakhstan assured the Ukrainian authorities that the applicant would not be prosecuted for criminal offences different from those mentioned in the extradition proceedings without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities.
34.  On 2 December 2004 the GPO of Kazakhstan, again by letter, gave additional assurances confirming that the applicant would not be liable to the death penalty in Kazakhstan and that his rights and lawful interests in the course of criminal proceedings would be adequately protected. They mentioned inter alia a moratorium on executions imposed by the Presidential Decree of 17 December 2003 until full abolition of the death penalty.
35.  On 23 and 24 September 2004 the applicant's mother and his advocate in the domestic proceedings (Mr Priduvalov), respectively, appealed against the order of the Dniprovsky Court of 13 September 2004. They requested that the applicant be released subject to an undertaking not to abscond, until the applicant's identity had been verified. In particular, they claimed that the applicant was not a citizen of Kazakhstan, but a citizen of the Russian Federation and that the order referred to a different person. They also requested an extension of the time-limit for lodging an appeal as the applicant had not been informed about the possibility of doing so in good time.
36.  On 27 September 2004 the Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed the GPO of Kazakhstan that the GPO of Ukraine agreed to extradite the applicant. The letter mentioned the need to organise the applicant's transfer to Kazakhstan. By a separate letter written on the same date, the Deputy Prosecutor General informed the Ministry of the Interior, the SDES and the Deputy Prosecutor of Kyiv that he approved the applicant's extradition and his transfer to Kazakhstan under guard.
37.  On 5 and 10 October 2004 the applicant's lawyers (Mr Priduvalov and Ms Shevchenko) appealed against the failure of the judge of the Dniprovsky Court to pursue the appeal proceedings asked for by the applicant's mother and lawyer on 23 and 24 September 2004. On 7 October 2004 the Kyiv City Court of Appeal refused to consider the appeal on the grounds that it had been lodged out of time, and remitted it for a decision on its admissibility to the first-instance court (Articles 165 (2), sub-paragraphs 7 and 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), which on 16 November 2004 rejected the appeals lodged by the applicant's mother and Mr Priduvalov as his mother had no standing in the proceedings and the appeal had been lodged out of time, respectively. This ruling was not appealed.
38.  On 14 October 2004 the applicant's mother requested the Governor of SIZO no. 13 to release the applicant from detention on the grounds that he was detained unlawfully.
39.  On 15 October 2004 the applicant's advocate lodged a complaint with the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv (“the Shevchenkivsky Court”; Шевченківський районний суд міста Києва) requesting that the applicant be released from SIZO no. 13.
40.  On 23 October 2004 the applicant was transferred to Kharkiv SIZO no. 27 with a view to his further transfer to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation which were to hand the applicant over to the law-enforcement authorities of Kazakhstan.
41.  On 24 November 2004 the applicant's extradition was suspended by the GPO of Ukraine, following the interim measure indicated to the Government of Ukraine under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court on 23 November 2004.
42.  On 6 January 2005 the applicant lodged complaints with the Dniprovsky Court seeking a finding that his detention in Kharkiv SIZO no. 27 was unlawful. On 18 January 2005 the court refused to accept the applicant's complaint as it had been lodged with the wrong court, contrary to the requirements as to territorial jurisdiction.
43.  On 11 April 2005 the applicant's lawyer, Mr Bushchenko, informed the Court that the applicant had requested refugee status in Ukraine and that this request was being examined.
44.  On 30 November and 1 December 2004 the applicant's mother lodged administrative complaints with the Zhovtnevy District Court of Kharkiv (“the Zhovtnevy Court”; Жовтневий районний суд міста Харкова) requesting the applicant's release and a finding that the inactivity of the Governor of Kharkiv SIZO no. 27 in examining the applicant's complaints about his continued detention had been unlawful.
45.  On 10 December 2004 the court refused to consider the complaint as it had been lodged under the Code of Civil Procedure. The court suggested that the applicant should re-lodge the complaint under Article 106 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (detention of a criminal suspect by the investigating body) as it concerned his detention and the criminal proceedings instituted against him in Kazakhstan.
46.  On 24 March 2005 the Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal (Апеляційний суд Харківської області) quashed the ruling of 10 December 2004 and decided not to examine the applicant's mother's complaints as she had no standing in the criminal proceedings against her son.
47.  No appeal on points of law was lodged with the Supreme Court against this ruling.
48.  On 7 and 10 December 2004 the applicant's lawyer in the domestic proceedings (Ms Shevchenko) and the applicant's mother each lodged a complaint with the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv (“the Pechersky Court”; Печерський районний суд м. Києва) against the GPO of Ukraine requesting that the applicant's extradition to Kazakhstan be prohibited. They also asked the court to declare the GPO of Ukraine's decision to extradite the applicant unlawful. They referred, inter alia, to Articles 5, 6, 7 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine and various provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. A hearing in the Pechersky Court was scheduled to take place on 26 January 2005, but was adjourned to 28 January 2005.
49.  On 28 January 2005 the Pechersky Court, in the absence of the representatives of the GPO of Ukraine, allowed the applicant's complaints, declared the decision to extradite the applicant to Kazakhstan unlawful and prohibited the GPO of Ukraine from extraditing the applicant.
50.  On 28 February 2005 the GPO of Ukraine lodged an appeal with the Kyiv City Court of Appeal against the aforementioned judgment, requesting that the case be remitted for fresh consideration to the first‑instance court. They mentioned in the appeal that the applicant had been detained in Kyiv on 23 August 2004. On 14 and 17 March 2005 the applicant lodged counter-arguments against the GPO of Ukraine's appeal, referring inter alia to various provisions of the domestic and international law, including Article 5 § 1(f) of the Convention and Article 106 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
51.  On 27 May 2005 the Kyiv City Court of Appeal examined the GPO of Ukraine's appeal, quashed the decision of the Pechersky Court of 28 January 2005 and remitted the case for fresh consideration. In particular, it found that the Pechersky Court's judgment of 28 January 2005 had been adopted in the absence of the GPO of Ukraine's representatives, who had not been duly informed of the date and time of the hearing in the case, as required by Article 307 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
52.  On 1 July 2005 the Pechersky Court terminated the proceedings on the grounds that the applicant had failed to comply with the procedure prescribed by law for introducing complaints in criminal proceedings. In particular, the court found that the complaints against the GPO of Ukraine should be examined in the course of criminal proceedings, in accordance with the procedural rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure (paragraphs 7 and 8 of Article 106 of the Code) and not as administrative complaints under the Code of Civil Procedure.
53.  On 22 September 2005 the Kyiv City Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of 1 July 2005, finding it to be lawful. In particular, it referred to resolution no. 16 of the Plenary Supreme Court of 8 October 2004 and the relevant provisions of the Code of Administrative Justice (Articles 199, 200, 205 and 206), stating that as the applicant complained about lawfulness of his detention and his possible extradition, he had to appeal against it to the court in accordance with the rules enshrined in the Code of Criminal Procedure and the relevant provisions of the international treaty, which were applicable to extradition.
54.  On 12 October 2005 the applicant appealed on points of law to the Higher Administrative Court against the ruling of 22 September 2005. The outcome of these proceedings is unknown.
55.  On 20 December 2004 the applicant lodged complaints with the Zhovtnevy Court seeking a declaration that his detention in Kharkiv SIZO no. 27 was unlawful. He referred to Articles 29 and 55 of the Constitution, and Article 5 §§ 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the Convention. In particular, he alleged that the time-limit for his detention had expired on 12 October 2004 (thirty days after 13 September 2004, the date of the decision of the Dniprovsky Court to detain him).
56.  On 25 January 2005 the court resumed the examination of the applicant's appeal. The hearing was adjourned until 7 February 2005 owing to the failure of the applicant's representative to appear before the court.
57.  On 7 February 2005 the court decided to adjourn the examination of the applicant's appeal in order to obtain further evidence from the Pechersky Court and the GPO of Ukraine. The next hearing was scheduled for 4 March 2005, when the proceedings were again adjourned for the same reason.
58.  On 14 April 2005 the court adjourned the proceedings pending the examination of the GPO of Ukraine's appeal against the decision of the Pechersky Court of 28 January 2005 (see paragraph 50 above).
59.  On 7 September 2005 the Zhovtnevy Court rejected the applicant's complaints. In particular, it found that the applicant was detained in Kharkiv SIZO no. 27 not on the basis of the decision of the Dniprovsky Court of 13 September 2004, but on the basis of the extradition warrant (санкція) by the Deputy Prosecutor General and his decision to transfer the applicant under guard (етапувати та конвоювати) to Kazakhstan (see paragraph 36 above). Furthermore, the court referred to the fact that the extradition had been suspended in view of the proceedings pending before the European Court of Human Rights. It therefore found the applicant's detention to be lawful. It referred inter alia to Article 29 of the Constitution of Ukraine, Articles 56 – 62 of the Minsk Convention, Articles 165(1) and 165(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as Article 5 §§ 1, 3 and 4 of the Convention. It also held that the applicant's name was “Amir Damirovich Kaboulov” and that he was a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
60.  On 14 October 2005 the Zhovtnevy Court forwarded the case file to the Kharkiv Regional Court of Appeal with a view to the hearing of the applicant's appeal which was scheduled for 15 November 2005. The outcome of these proceedings is unknown.